It happens:
- The magic in a child’s eyes when they see the Rockefeller Christmas tree lights.
- A deep sea, face to face encounter with a Great White off the coast of Guadalupe Island.
- The starstruck, dumb face, foot in your mouth, pit in your throat, dry swallow when you meet
John StamosJason Mamoa. - The sense of critical and ultimate release when a blog post goes viral.
- The uncertain silence of a bloody trauma room, resuscitated. A beep. I feel a pulse.
These moments, like so many others profound experiences in life are highlights. Climactical, elemental and instrumental in all contexts. Not unlike these carnitas I’m gonna tell you about.
Here goes.
Mind you, I have an frenetic relationship with Mexican food.
The idea here is actually quite simple. Good. NAY! Excellent quality of ingredients, a pinch of patience and a lot of fat. Carnitas are not, shall we say, ‘diet’ food. Dripping in slatherous baths of lard or the like, this plate takes one to a truly profound place.
I’ve made these in various preparations, and I have found (repetitively), that less is so much more. I’ve ix-nayed the cumin and garlic and chilis and oregano. Theres is no ‘cola’ or added fruit juice.
You don’t trust me. I can feel it.
I’m not gonna lead you astray. Try it. Abuela will not be disappointed.
Feeds a family; Takes 2.5hrs
Ingredients for Carnitas
- 1 (4-5lb) fatty pork butt, washed, dried and cut into 2x2x2 cubes
- 3 tbsp bacon fat or lard
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp maldon or sea salt (divided in 4ths) – you’ll see.
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 onion, halved (skin on)
- Juice of 2 clementines or 1 cara cara orange
- Juice of 2 limes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
Method
Remove all racks from the oven except the bottom one. Pre heat oven to 275 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven, heat bacon fat/lard with canola oil until HOT. Turn heat down to medium.
Pat the pork pieces dry and coat the first side with 1/4 of your salt. They spatter. Be careful.
Place pieces salt side down in the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. (I usually do this in 2 batches with a pork butt this size). Allow to sizzle and get a golden crust (about 3-4 min). While they cook, sprinkle the 2nd dose of salt on the unseared side.
Flip the pork and let cook for 2-3 min on the other side. These are not cooked through. Remove this batch and follow the same steps with the rest of your piggy cubes.
Once all the pork is seared, add it all back into the dutch oven – yep all that greasy juice too. Turn off the heat and add the citrus juices, bay leaves, onion, pepper and chicken stock.
Place in the oven for 1 hour, mixing at that point.
Cook for 1 -1.5 hr more. Pork will be effortlessly falling apart.
You could sneak some snacks out of the pot at this point (which is highly recommended).
Last step: Pull out a hefty wide lipped frying pan and add some of the fatty juices from the pork along with a glug of olive oil. Fry until crispy and scrumptious ~ 5 min. Top with scallions and serve over rice and beans:)
This is the magic. The encounter. The dry swallow. The release. The thready, bleeping heart beat.
Make these.
Got leftovers? Turn them into nachos!
Got a problem with Mexican food like me? Here are some more ideas:
- Limey Chicken Tacos
- Baked Bison Taquitos with Heirloom Guac
- Homemade Crunch Wraps
- Spicy Beef and Hominy Pozole with Salsa Verde
- Corned Beef Migas with Gochujang and Goat Cheese
- Strawberry Steak Tacos
